If The Sky Should Fall
by Kairaita
Summary: It's been a year since Gray vanished, yet the team has sworn that they will never stop searching for him. As Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and Erza scour every corner of Fiore for their missing friend, whispers of forces acting on a legend about ice mages reach their ears, connecting ominously to Gray's disappearance, and it becomes a race against time to find Gray before anyone else does.
1. Prologue - Departure

_~If The Sky Should Fall~_

_The goodbyes are left in the things they never said._

* * *

**Prologue – Departure**

* * *

…_For some reason, I think I already knew. I felt a strange uneasiness the entire time._

_I just didn't want to admit it. What could possibly happen? We were Fairy Tail's strongest team, after all. There shouldn't have been any need to worry._

_On that day, when he left, he was laughing and smiling as we said goodbye. It should have been reassuring._

_Yet still… No matter how many times I tried telling myself, it lingered at the back of my mind and wouldn't go away._

_The feeling that Gray wasn't coming home._

.

.

.

The pale blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily from side to side, as if in no apparent hurry with regards to the world and its events below. Although the season was in transition from late autumn to early winter, weak rays of sunlight still shone, illuminating the open and bustling train station. Shrill whistles blew with uncanny synchronization, blending with the indistinct chatter of would-be passengers and those who awaited them.

On one particular station platform, four people and one flying cat stood (and floated) in the middle of the crowd, anticipating the arrival of the train. However, only one of them was prepared for a journey, a large brown bag slung over his shoulder.

"Are you sure that's all you need, Gray?" The scarlet-haired woman in armor spoke, fixing the bag that she had deemed inadequate with a solemn stare. "If you're planning on staying out there for a month, I'm fairly certain you will need more than that."

"Not everyone brings a whole cart with stuff like you do, Erza," Gray responded lightly with a small laugh. "Besides, you make it sound like I'll be in the middle of nowhere. There's a whole town nearby, seriously. This is fine."

A wry smile curved Erza's lips. "I suppose you would know better than I."

Golden hair fluttered as the resident celestial spirit mage launched herself forward to squeeze Gray briefly in a tight hug. "Isvan, huh?" Lucy mused, backing away and tapping a finger to her cheek. "It's supposed to be getting pretty cold up there this time of the year. Not that it'll probably matter to you," she added teasingly. "Still, take care of yourself, okay? Don't go getting sick or anything."

A certain Dragon Slayer chuckled mockingly at that. "Ha, who d'you think you're talking to, Lucy?" Natsu reached over to punch Gray lightly in the shoulder. "Besides, I heard idiots don't get colds. So you've got ice and an idiot. It's like a double immune thing!"

"Who're you calling an idiot?" Gray retorted, smacking the back of Natsu's head. "You're a bigger idiot than I'll ever be, so I should be the one saying that to you."

"What was that, droopy eyed popsicle?!"

"You heard me, squinty eyed ashtray!"

"_Boys_." The S-class mage's crisp voice stopped the impending brawl before it even began, and the two recipients of Erza's wrath gulped in unison.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the air, and all five of the Fairy Tail mages looked up as a green train stamped with Magnolia's crest pulled sluggishly into the station, rolling to a smooth stop in front of them. Steam hissed out from the top, billowing into a small cloud that soon dissipated.

"I guess this is it then." Adjusting the strap of his bag, Gray glanced at his friends, an air of awkwardness permeating the atmosphere. He had never been one for sappy, sentimental goodbyes, although this was far from one so far. At least there was no sobbing going on. Erza stepped closer, and without warning wrapped an arm around Gray's neck, slamming his head into her armored chest in what was obviously supposed to be a warm embrace. "_Ow-_ dammit Erza!" Lucy, Natsu, and Happy winced at the audible clanging sound on impact, having all experienced Erza's special displays of affection before.

Oblivious to the ice mage's pain, Erza released Gray, clapping a hand onto his back and making him flinch at the feeling of a metal glove digging between his shoulder blades. "One month, no later," she said in a stern tone, brown eyes intently meeting dark blue. "Good luck with your training."

"Y-yeah, thanks." His white coat rippled as he turned and walked away, waving a hand. The remainder of the team watched Gray present his ticket to the porter, then his silhouette as he made his way through the train carriage and stopped at a seat in the middle, where he was still visible through the window. Happy flew up to the glass, shoving the window upward and open, and Gray poked his head out, rubbing the blue cat behind his ears.

"See you soon, Gray!" Happy chirped, rolling in midair at the pleasant sensation of being rubbed. He flew back down to the group that had clustered under the window, landing softly on Natsu's pink locks.

"Hurry up and come back!" Natsu called, cupping a hand to his mouth.

Gray leaned out the window, resting his arms on the sill. The silver necklace with a sword on its chain that never left Gray's neck swung down gently with a tiny tinkle. "What, are you actually going to miss me?" he asked, smirking lightly.

"As if!" Grinning brightly in response, Natsu raised his fist, and Gray bumped it. "I mean it as in hurry up so I can punch your smug face again. It'll be boring at the guild now."

"There're tons of other people you could fight with, you know."

"…I'll fight whoever I want whenever I want!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Gray sighed, and he looked over to his left. "Lucy? What's wrong? 'You've got a weird look on your face."

"Hm?" Lucy jolted in shock at the sudden acknowledgement, blinking back to awareness. "Ah, no, nothing. It's just…"

"What?"

"…No, never mind." The blonde smiled and clasped her hands together. "I'm sure it's nothing. We'll miss you, Gray."

"No I won't!"

"Natsu, read the atmosphere…"

The train whistle blew once again, signaling its readiness for departure. Gray glanced over his shoulder and then back to his friends. A small, fond smile was just faintly visible in his expression. "Alright, see you guys. Don't do anything stupid. I'll be home before you know it."

"Send a message if there's any trouble." Erza crossed her arms, looking up at the window. "And remember that you can always come back."

"I'm not a kid, Erza…" Gray waved through the window again before pulling back in order to close it. He abruptly stopped when something tugged at his neck, preventing him from moving. Frowning in confusion, Gray pulled harder as the train engine roared to life, emanating a rumbling sensation under his feet. His eyes widened when he realized it was his necklace that had stopped him, somehow caught on an inconveniently placed hook outside the train window. But it was too late as with a soft sound, the chain suddenly snapped and the necklace plummeted downward. "Oh shit!"

It never touched the ground, as the necklace fell onto Natsu's waiting hand. But the train was already beginning to slowly move.

"Oi, Natsu! Hurry up and throw it!" Gray shouted, holding out his hand. Natsu swung his arm back, paused, and then lowered it. "Hey! Did you hear me, flame-brain?"

Staring for a moment at the silver chain in his hand, Natsu suddenly grinned and tightened his grip on it. "You'll get this back when _you're_ back!" he yelled, waving the necklace in the air. It glinted mischievously in the sunlight.

Happy tilted his head to the side. "Natsu, that's kind of mean."

"Think of it as an incentive then, Gray," Erza said loudly, giving a slight smile.

They were still able to make out the ice mage's sigh of exasperation. "Flame bastard, if you lose that, I'll kick your ass when I come back!"

Lucy snatched the necklace from Natsu's hand, holding it more securely. "We'll keep it safe for you!" she called. "We promise!"

Gray waved one last time before vanishing from the window for good. The rest of Fairy Tail's strongest team watched as the train began to pick up speed, moving faster and faster and farther and farther until it was just a speck in the distance, puffing out clouds of steam against the sky.

"So you promise too, okay?" Lucy whispered quietly. She squeezed the necklace so tightly that the sword pendant was imprinted into her palm. And as she loosened her grip, the mark faded back to nothingness.

.

.

.

_...That was the last time we saw Gray._

* * *

**A/N:** Well, I promised a Gray-centric multi-chapter story that's totally mine, and here it is. I honestly have no idea how long this will get or how long it will take to update or finish, but I hope any readers will stick around with me to the end, and I'll make it as enjoyable as I can. I think I'm really going to enjoy writing this too.

_The Dream of Sleeping Beauty_ will still be updated and most likely even finished before the next chapter of this story is posted, but I just really wanted to get the prologue up first. …And maybe because I wanted to start a story on the first day of the new year. Happy new year to everyone!

By the way, there is no romance in this story. Absolutely none. Maybe there are hints if you want to see them (because I definitely have my biases too), but please believe me when I say that none of them are intentional. This is a purely friendship story.

Thank you for reading so far!


	2. The Village of Ice

**Chapter One – The Village of Ice**

* * *

_Two weeks earlier…_

* * *

"It's freezing up here!" Lucy wailed as she clutched a thick brown blanket more tightly around her shoulders and shivered violently, rocking herself back and forth in a vain attempt to conserve body heat. "Why did we even pick this mission?!"

In what appeared to be the middle of absolute nowhere, a roaring blizzard surrounded the tiny train station with only five inhabitants. The ridiculous amount of snow that continually splattered into their faces made it difficult to see anything beyond a foot in front of them, save for bright patches of gold, scarlet, black, pink, and the small spot of blue.

"Weren't you the one who needed a mission for your rent?" Casting a long-suffering glance back at the celestial spirit mage, Gray absentmindedly tugged his shirt off and was promptly smacked in the back of his head by the armored mage for his trouble. "Hey! What the hell, Erza?"

"Put it back on," Erza ordered, striding ahead as she ignored Gray's yelp of surprise at his state of undress. Undaunted by the horrendous weather, she brushed the hair whipping around her face away from her eyes and unfolded a small map, pointing at some spot neither Lucy or Gray could make out despite their proximity to Erza. "We're here right now. Since the area is so remote, the train doesn't run all the way to the village. Therefore, we'll have to walk the rest of the way to Glacies."

"In this blizzard?!" That appeared to be the last straw for Lucy, who rummaged about for a moment before shakily holding up a silver key in her hand. "O-open, gate of t-the Clock!" She was barely able to get the words out in-between her uncontrollably chattering teeth. "H-Horologi-ACHOO!"

There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, Lucy could be seen curled up inside her hollow celestial spirit, still shivering slightly. "It is one-thirty-two in the afternoon," Horologium announced helpfully.

"I still wonder if you're using your spirits properly sometimes," Gray muttered.

"'If you had a spirit that could do this, you'd use them too!' she says."

"Enough talking, you two. Let's get moving. The sooner we reach the village, the sooner we can be out of this weather." Tucking the map away, Erza scanned about, raising an eyebrow in mild confusion. "Where's Natsu?"

The answer to her question was face down in the snow just a few feet away, tufts of spiky pink hair waving back and forth. An odd moan drifted over to them despite the deafening wind. Tugging futilely at the white scarf around Natsu's neck that could have blended in with the snow if not for the pattern of dragon scales, Happy piped up, "I think Natsu's dead."

"Uuugh… Train… never… again…"

"'You say the same thing every time!' she says."

Erza heaved a sigh of disapproval before reaching to lift Natsu bodily up from the ground and throwing his limp form over her armored shoulder. Gray and Happy cringed as Natsu's head audibly collided with a metal plate. "Really, what am I going to do with you?"

"You could leave him on the train?" Gray suggested, only half-joking.

The team trekked onwards into the face of the blizzard, snow wiping away the trail of their footprints almost as quickly as they were made.

* * *

"I see it! I see it!"

Happy's cheerful voice echoed off the small line of mountains at the team's backs. He swooped over and over again in circles, wings spread wide in order to catch every breeze that passed him by.

Behind Happy was everyone else, unable to yet see whatever it was that had the blue cat so excited. Mostly, they were simply thankful that the blizzard had seemed to miraculously clear up as soon as they left the mountains behind, quieting down to a gentle snowfall from an overcast sky. They, including Natsu who had revived somewhat, walked down the single worn rock-studded path that had begun in the mountains and continued until it vanished over the edge of a small cliff.

"Is it the village?" Lucy asked, straining to see. The time allotted to her for hiding in Horologium had long expired, though at least it was after they had made it through the blizzard.

Eager as ever, Natsu ran ahead of the group on the path, disregarding Lucy's alarmed shout about slipping on ice. True to her words, Natsu overshot and skidded to a halt at the edge, arms flailing wildly and nearly toppling over the cliff if not for Happy catching and dragging his friend away from it.

"Thanks, Happy," Natsu gasped in relief, flopping backwards in the snow.

"Aye!"

"You really are an ash-brain," Gray called scornfully. "Running around like that when you don't even know the terrain…"

"Hah?! What'd you just call me?"

"Do I have to say it twice, or are you just deaf?"

Erza broke in suddenly with her most pleasant warning tone. "Not now, you two." She came to stand behind Natsu, peering down at the flat plateau of snow and the village that lay on top. "I suppose we've arrived then. It's even smaller than I thought."

The village of Glacies spread out below them looked nothing special, save that it was the only sign of life as far as they could see. Snow capped the tops of dark stone buildings that were lined in neat rows, spreading outward until the outskirts formed a circular shape that acted as a boundary line. At the end of the village furthest from them, they could make out a long staircase ascending a hill of snow to a single, isolated structure on top. The occasional small dots moving up and down the narrow streets and in and out of buildings could only be the villagers.

Beyond Glacies, a massive sea lurked dangerously at the village's edge.

"That looks a little unsafe," Lucy murmured, watching a distant wave lap against an ice-covered shore. "What if it floods or something?"

With a frown, Gray cast his gaze over the expanse of land, taking in the sheer blankness of it. There was quite literally only the sea, the village, and icy plains of nothing. "I think I've been here before," he said suddenly. "I don't remember this place being that close to the water."

"You have?" Lucy turned to look at him in surprise. "Ah, I remember now… Isvan's just a little farther north from here, isn't it?"

Gray nodded, his eyes still set on the village. "It was when I was still with Ur and Lyon. I don't even remember what we were doing here though." He racked his brain for a moment, coming up with nothing but a few scattered memories of little importance; what _had_ they been doing here back then?

"I wouldn't be surprised. This place is well-known for its affinity with ice magic." Erza looked on with interest, noting that the houses had been built atop high platforms of tightly packed snow. It's said that the village has a history of legends about ice magic, and there are even rumors of it being founded by a dragon. Of course, that's not something I know the details to, and to be honest, I have my doubts about it. Still, Glacies is supposedly a popular spot for ice mages to visit."

"…That's the first I've heard of it," Gray said, taken slightly aback, while Natsu perked up with interest. Still, Erza's explanation made things a little clearer, and he suddenly felt more eager about the mission than before. "So who're we after, Erza?"

She took out a somewhat crumpled piece of paper, glancing over the contents. "We've been asked to look into several suspicious incidents in the village. It's apparently been going on for several months now, and unknown if they're all related. The village's officials are short on people to take care of the problem."

Natsu turned his head back to look at Erza. "How many guys do we get to take out?"

"That's not a guarantee, and something we'll have to gather more information on once we speak to whoever's in charge. But you may get your chance sooner or later. Glacies is so isolated that few guilds wanted to take the time and energy to travel this far north."

With a scowl, the Dragon Slayer slammed a fist into his other hand, expression turned up in indignation. "That's not right. Who cares 'bout how far it is? People here needed help, so some guild should've picked this job up before now, if it's been happening for a long time."

A slight smile crossed Erza's face. It was just like Natsu to be displeased on the behalf of others when it came to guild values. "Not all guilds operate as we do, unfortunate as it is," she said nevertheless. "Still, we're here now. Let's make the most of it."

* * *

The mayor of Glacies was a friendly-looking old man with gleaming white hair and laugh lines crinkled along his face. "Thank you very much for coming, Fairy Tail mages," he said warmly, bowing his head. "I was beginning to despair of our plea for help being heard by anyone. My name is Firn Boreal." Despite his age, the man's eyes were starkly alert and he held himself upright with ease, giving the distinct impression of a rarely tempered hardiness.

"No, it's our pleasure. My name is Erza Scarlet, and these are my comrades Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy," Erza replied, sweeping an arm behind her to indicate the rest of the team. "We're prepared to assist in any way possible."

"As expected of Titania," Firn nodded appreciatively. "Your name reaches even the most remote outskirts of Fiore, my dear. And of course, to the rest of you, thank you again as well."

"No problem, old man!" Natsu burst out cheerfully, disregarding Lucy's scandalized hiss at his complete lack of respect. "Fairy Tail always gets the job done. So who do we get to lay the smackdown on, huh? I'm all fired up here!" Gray pulled the back of Natsu's hair in irritation, eliciting a pained yelp and aggravated complaint from the Dragon Slayer.

The mayor laughed briefly at their actions, leaning forward at the desk he sat behind and resting his elbows on the wood with his fingers interlaced. "Such a boisterous lot you all are. Ah, to be young again… Perhaps if I had such vigor now, this village…"

Erza blinked. "Did you say something, sir?"

"No, never mind." Clearing his throat, Firn reached below his desk, emerging with a thin folder filled with papers. "I presume you would like to know the details of the mission now. Unfortunately, there is little I can tell you other than what information we already sent out on the briefing. Glacies has been plagued with an unusual string of petty crimes recently, that much is true. What has caught our attention is the fact that all witnesses reported the same description of the perpetrators: people dressed in dark blue cloaks obscuring their faces with a strange pattern on their backs." He opened the folder, revealing a series of rough hand drawn sketches. A small symbol was also drawn on the side, of what appeared to be a cracked iceberg in a sea of waves.

"What kind of creep goes around wearing that sort of get-up?" Lucy asked incredulously. "I mean, you're just asking for trouble there…"

Firn shook his head slowly. "I have no answer for that," he said with a sigh. "The people of interest have done no direct harm to the villagers, except for badly startling them in cases of breaking and entering. But nevertheless, I hope you understand how problematic this is for us. We have had little success apprehending any suspects, and the villagers have been living in a constant state of fear for much too long, no thanks to those infernal messages that are left behind."

"Messages?" Gray spoke up then, voicing the question that all of them were asking. "About what?"

"Nothing that concerns any of you." The mayor waved a hand airily, but his tone invited no further discussion. "Silly rumors and nonsense. You may even see some of that vandalism in your investigation. In any case, I apologize that I have no more information for you, but I am at your service. Best of luck to you, Fairy Tail."

Before they knew it, the team stood on the other side of the door.

"He kicked us out of his office pretty fast."

"I'm sure we'll make sense of it once we start questioning people on what they've seen." Flipping through the folder she had received, Erza pulled out one sheet in particular. "What concerns me is this symbol. Have any of you noticed?"

"Ah, yeah!" Lucy exclaimed. "I thought it was just coincidence, but now that you mention it…"

Behind the two women, the remaining members of the team shrugged at each other in confusion. "What's so special about it, Lucy?" Natsu asked, arms behind his head as they all exited the building into pale sunlight.

"Look over there." The blonde pointed towards the entrance of the village, apparently indicating the large signpost molded from snow that marked the fact. "That's the symbol of Glacies, if I'm not mistaken. It's the exact same iceberg that was drawn on this paper, and what they said was on the back of their cloaks." She held the paper up for comparison, tilting it slightly. "The only difference is the crack and the waves on the one here. I wonder what it means."

"Let's leave it until we've gathered a little more information from the villagers," The armored mage said briskly. "I believe we should split up for the time being. We'll meet at the village square in two hours. And I want no complaints from the villagers about any sort of destruction, is that clear?" she added, glaring sternly at Natsu and Gray in particular.

A chorus of yeses responded.

* * *

Gray inhaled deeply, savoring the fresh air that flowed through his lungs. There was a sharp crispness to the oxygen that he had almost forgotten about while living in Magnolia for so long, and he missed the sensation more than he cared to admit. Coming up to the north for a mission was a rare but welcome occurrence, since requests would naturally be taken by guilds closer than Fairy Tail, and Gray was determined to enjoy it as long as they were here.

It would help if Natsu would just _shut up_ for a second though.

"Why are you two following me?" he ground out from clenched teeth, already feeling the faint heat that Natsu always exuded. The small shadow fluttering above his head was most certainly Happy. "Erza said to split up, didn't she?"

The Dragon Slayer snorted. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm just going in the same direction for now." Natsu jabbed a finger ahead in emphasis. "Besides, I smelled something weird up ahead, so I'm gonna check it out. And don't think of checking it out before me! I found it first!"

"Who said anything about that?" Gray snapped, undoing the buttons on his coat. "Be my guest! I don't want to look at anything weird _your_ nose smelled, anyway."

"It could've been a good smell! What would _you_ know?" Natsu shot back.

"Was it?"

"…Not really."

The ice mage slapped a hand to his face in exasperation. "Just go and find whatever it was. I'm sick of your face." Which wasn't true, really. The insults hadn't been true for a long time now, but they simply rolled off his tongue like second nature.

"You wanna go or something?" Natsu growled, though there was a hint of playfulness under the aggression. Verbally sparring like this was a natural constant between the two of them, and had been for as long as they could remember.

A smirk flickered over Gray's expression. "Yeah, away from _you, _so get going already."

"Fine!" With a huff, Natsu turned on his heel and stomped off in a different direction, presumably where the scent he picked up had come from. "Ice-brain!"

"Flame-brain!" Gray called back, bemusedly shaking his head, and set off down a path by himself.

The hill they had been able to see prior to entering the village loomed over Gray as he rounded a corner. His eyes followed the long, packed staircase of snow up and up until he caught a glimpse of some sort of structure at the top. A building? What was so special about this one? Curiosity got the better of him and Gray found himself ascending the steps. It was still possible to find clues about whoever they were after, he reasoned, absentmindedly reinforcing patches of snow where it crumbled under his feet with ice. Reaching the peak, he looked back down at the village below, exhaling a short breath in surprise at how high he had climbed. It hadn't seemed so far up from ground level.

From the height he was at now, it was also easier to see the extent that the surrounding sea had melted the shoreline on this side of the village. Gray frowned as he had before at his first sight of it; when he had been here with Ur and Lyon, the water definitely hadn't been so close. The likely explanation was that the ice shore had melted away during the many years since then, which wasn't impossible. Still, the implications it carried for the future of the village were far from good.

He walked up to the double-doors of the building. Another memory flashed through his mind, of standing before these very doors from a lower height with a dark-haired woman in front of him. So Ur had been here to visit this village and building after all. What in the world for? Gray traced his gaze over a strange design carved into the doors. Not that he was very familiar with their appearance, but he thought they looked a little like dragons, from what he had heard of them before. A Dragon Slayer would probably know better though, and Gray made a mental note to pass the information onto Natsu. It didn't seem relevant to Natsu's search for Igneel, but any mention of dragons was sure to interest him.

Raising a hand, Gray knocked firmly on one of the doors. "Hello?"

"Come in." The voice that drifted through was undoubtedly female. Gray pushed the door open and slid within, letting the door shut itself behind him. To his surprise, it was more like a large one-room house, and not even completely that. There were only three sides surrounding him, and what would have been a fourth wall was simply nonexistent, a gap that opened out to a high view of the sea behind the village. In addition, the roof had a large gaping hole in it, where snow drifted through and dim sunlight shone down on what appeared to be a sword planted in a raised pedestal. It was rather random, but at the same time a familiar sensation he couldn't quite place crept under his skin.

Quick footsteps clicked towards him from a corner of the room. "Neve, I told you I wasn't going to help you anymore with writing out th-eh?" A small girl wearing a dark blue dress stopped in front of Gray with a puzzled expression, tilting her head to the side. "Who are you? I know everyone in Glacies and I've never seen you before."

He blinked down at the girl. She seemed surprisingly young to be up in a place like this alone. "I'm Gray," he said. "I'm part of a team from the Fairy Tail guild that answered the mission request to investigate this place for suspicious people."

"Oh, someone finally answered it." The girl flipped long strands of silvery white hair over her shoulders, looking strangely unhappy about the fact. "Thank you for coming. My name is Cirque. I don't think I'll be of much help, but you can ask me whatever you would like." She gestured to a small table off to the side, well away from the back of the building and the drop below. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Nah, I won't stay that long. I got questions though." Gray remained standing, hands shoved into his pockets in an attempt to prevent any unconscious stripping. It would absolutely not do to flash a kid who couldn't be much older than ten, though she seemed unusually mature for that age. "Who's Neve?"

"My older brother. He's been asking me for all sorts of unreasonable things lately." Cirque's face scrunched into a childish pout that made her look even younger than she already was.

"What kind of things?"

"I don't think that's any of your business." The suddenly cold businesslike tone caught Gray off guard for a moment. It was a sharp contrast from her friendly, though wary demeanor before.

"Right, sorry, didn't mean to poke into anything personal." He shifted uncomfortably, trying not to let his eyes be pulled to the dimly glowing sword in the center of the room. The strangely familiar, almost nostalgic feeling still prickled at him. Why was a sword even in a place like this? "You know anything about the weird messages that're being left around?"

A sigh of apparent frustration. "They're causing a lot of panic, that's for sure," Cirque replied, glancing away. "Still, maybe it's for the best. People are paying attention to what's happening instead of pretending that everything is fine."

That caught Gray's attention. "What's wrong? What's that supposed to mean?"

Her eyes met his then, in a very straight gaze, pools of light green radiating utter seriousness. "This village won't last much longer," she stated flatly, turning her back to him.

* * *

"Erza!"

"Lucy?"

Turning around, Erza waited for her blonde-haired friend to catch up, raising an eyebrow at her state. "Have you found anything yet?"

Lucy shook her head, thought for a moment, then nodded instead. "Well, not really, but sort of?" She slowed to a walk next to the armored mage, arms snugly wrapped around Plue. "It's more that I couldn't find anyone to talk to. When I was walking down a block, I'm pretty sure all the buildings there were completely empty. I haven't even _seen_ anyone else besides the mayor."

"Indeed. The population seems to be unusually low for a village of this size."

"I wonder what the reason could be," Lucy mused. "There must have been more people at some point in time. A lot more people, or they wouldn't have built the village this big."

Erza gave a sigh. "Unfortunately, it's not our mission to investigate that matter, as concerning as it is. I'm not sure if there's anything we can do about it either."

"Still, maybe we should-"

She was cut off by the sound of a large explosion that rumbled the snow-covered earth.

"Wha- What was that?!" Lucy shrieked, squeezing Plue so tightly that she did not notice how he wilted in her grasp. Erza on the other hand, pinched the bridge of her nose as they witnessed a large plume of smoke drift lazily into the air from the other side of the village.

"_Natsu_," she seethed.

* * *

"The hell?"

Gray stumbled as the entire hill underneath the structure shook from some unseen force. In front of him, Cirque yelped, her small body losing balance and falling backwards, landing in a less than dignified manner on the ground.

"Hey, you okay?"

"What in the world is going on?" she huffed, hopping back to her feet and indignantly dusting her dress off.

Shoving the door to the room open, Gray poked his head out and immediately spotted smoke rising on his left. "I think I've got a pretty good idea. Dammit, ashtray," he mumbled, making to exit. "I've still got questions, so I'll be back. Stay in here, kid."

"Kid?! I'm fifteen!"

That stopped Gray in his tracks. He spun around, looking over the girl disbelievingly. "Are you serious?" Her short stature, round face, and big eyes had all indicated otherwise.

"Yes!" Cirque snapped, bristling. "And I know what you're going to say, so do me a favor and keep it to yourself. I'm a mage myself, so do not take me lightly."

"No, that's not-" Another, smaller explosion interrupted him, and Gray groaned in frustration. "Look, just- I'll be back, okay?"

Outside, Gray knelt down in the direction of the smoke and slammed his hands on the hill. "Ice-Make: Slide!"

* * *

"RAAAAGH! Stop moving around!" Natsu bellowed as flames lit up his hands again, aiming towards the cloaked figure some distance away. The figure nimbly ducked under his swinging fist, the symbol they had seen earlier a blurred pattern of white on his back, and flung a gloved hand towards Natsu's face, blasting him with cold air.

"Ice?!" Happy cried out, hovering out of range in case he was targeted as well. "Does this guy use the same magic as Gray?"

"No, there wasn't any ice." Slapping his frozen cheeks with his hands, Natsu glared. "It's just really cold." A grin spread across his expression, eyes narrowing in excitement. "Which means this guy'll be even easier to beat than the popsicle."

"…You know of someone who wields ice?"

Both Natsu and Happy looked to the cloaked figure they had been fighting. The voice was deep, distinctly male, as well as the first time they had heard him speak since Natsu had smelled the man's scent and found him scribbling some strange words that didn't make sense on a wall of snow. Unfortunately, one of Natsu's stray blows had melted the entire wall before he could read whatever it was properly.

Natsu shrugged. "What's it to you?" He readied another attack, fire flickering over his entire body. "All you gotta know right now is that you've been scaring a lot of people for a long time, and that's not right."

"The villagers are ignorant. They deserve to know what fate awaits them in the near future," the figure replied coldly. "I bring them nothing but the truth that they are blind to."

"Well, this is a crappy way to tell them!" Natsu snapped irritably. The flames surrounding him flared higher in response, beginning to melt the hardened snow underneath Natsu's feet until a cold blow surprised him. Another burst of ice struck the enemy in the head, sending him staggering.

"Idiot! Are you trying to burn this whole place to the ground?" A footstep sounded behind Natsu, crunching onto the icy dirt, and Gray leveled a glare at the cloaked person. "Keep that fire of yours down."

"It's not like I can help it," grumbled Natsu. "Anyway, what're you doing here? This guy's mine!"

Taking advantage of the cloaked figure being seemingly stunned by Gray's appearance and sudden attack, Natsu propelled himself forward in a flash and swung a flame-covered fist at the other man. With a loud sound, the cloaked figure was sent flying backwards into a pile of snow, to which he tumbled down and lay still, groaning quietly. "Heh, that was easy," Natsu scoffed. "Did no one really catch this guy since before we got here?"

Gray strode quickly over to the collapsed man, pressing his hands together and snapping a pair of cuffs made from ice over the cloaked figure's wrists. "Who is this guy, anyway?" He yanked the hood of the cloak down, watching as mussed strands of silvery white hair fluttered around the face of a man probably five to six years older than him, blinking bleary deep green eyes. The combination seemed very familiar. _Could this guy be…_

"You're an ice mage."

The man frowned, pulling at the icy handcuffs with more interest than he should have had, being captured and all.

"What's it to you?" Gray glanced back towards Natsu, who was out of hearing range and giving Happy a high-five. It was just like him to be unconcerned about the clean-up after beating someone up.

"Your friend there said the same thing." Slowly, the silver-haired man clambered unconcernedly to his feet under Gray's watchful gaze, acting unusually calm for his circumstances. It set Gray on edge. "Fairy Tail," the man said, eyes landing on the blue guild mark stamped over his chest. When had he stripped again? "What do you think of this village, ice mage?"

The sudden question confused Gray, but he didn't see any harm in answering it when the mission was practically over and their target was locked up. "It's nice," he admitted. "I grew up in the north, so I'm used to the cold."

"You understand then." The man spoke quickly, suddenly, his tone turning into something fervent, almost incensed. "You understand my desire to preserve this village. To protect it. To save it. And you would do anything for a place that you are so devoted to, would you not?"

"That's-"

"Tell me, ice mage." The man whirled around with a quietly unstable smile and leaned his face uncomfortably close to Gray's, deep green eyes reflecting nothing at all. "What do you know of the absolute freezing spell, Iced Shell?"

At those two words, Gray felt as if his own blood had frozen in his veins, as ironic as that would be, and for a moment he couldn't breathe out of sheer shock. Out of the corner of his eyes, he thought he might have seen Natsu twitch for some reason, but it could have just as well been his imagination.

What the hell was this man saying? What did that spell have to do with anything? Where had he even heard of that forbidden magic?

In the end, Gray shoved the man away, binding his arms even more tightly together with ice, and began leading him off.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

* * *

Natsu, Happy, and Gray met up with Erza and Lucy at the village square, the two women having been alerted by the obvious signs of Natsu's battle. Once Natsu's customary punishment courtesy of Erza was dealt with, the scarlet-haired woman stepped in front of the man they had captured, eying him imperiously. He had not spoken another word since the scuffle with Natsu and Gray.

"What is your name?"

"…"

"There were reported sightings of other people in clothing like yours. Where are they?"

"I work alone," the man replied, tilting his head up for the first time.

Erza's expression darkened in distrust, but the man refused to answer any further questions. "Let's bring him to the mayor," she declared. "We can figure out what to do from there."

As they kicked the door to the office open, the startled mayor turned around, but he seemed even more startled, if possible, by the man in handcuffs.

"Neve?"

_...Neve?_

"You know this guy?" Natsu exclaimed, pointing a finger in the man's expressionless face.

"Of course I do." Firn strode towards them, heavy disappointment in his features. "This is my grandson, Neve Boreal." He shook his head with a sigh. "You foolish boy… What in the world were you thinking?"

"Sir," Erza spoke up with a frown at Neve, "We were told that there were multiple perpetrators, but your grandson insists that he worked alone."

"Oh well, if he says so, I believe him." The mayor waved a nonchalant hand. "You may remove his restraints. I know he won't try anything."

They hesitated for a moment, but with a quick nod of confirmation from Erza, Gray stepped forward and snapped the handcuffs, sending shards of ice cascading to the ground. The mayor raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.

"An ice mage? My, I haven't seen one in many years."

"It's not a big deal," Gray muttered, looking away. This was the second person in a row to make a comment about his magic. He certainly wasn't the only ice mage around, though it was funny the other two he knew all had connections to the same person along with himself.

"You have no idea." They all snapped their heads up at the sudden words. It was Neve who had spoken, but this time there were faint lines of fury creasing his forehead. "You have no idea," he repeated, staring directly at Gray. "You could help us, but you deny your responsibility." His last words came out in a snarl. "You're _weak_, ice mage."

Gray felt a chilling burst of anger sweep through him, even as he heard Lucy's indignant protest, saw the way Erza's eyes narrowed, and thought the temperature spiked briefly. He opened his mouth to deliver a biting retort, but was beaten to the punch by the mayor himself.

"Neve!" the old man said sharply. "You're in no place to say anything, my boy. I'll be having a long talk with you later. Crevasse, are you there?" he raised his voice, and a tall man with short brown hair opened the door inquisitively. "Escort my grandson back. You know where."

Once the door had closed behind the two others, Natsu spat, "Man, what a jerk! I didn't have any trouble kicking his ass anyway!"

"Natsu!" Even though she was every bit as nettled as he was having a friend insulted, Lucy was shocked at Natsu's outright contempt, in front of the mayor no less. "You can't go saying that sort of thing out loud."

"No, no, there is truth in his words." Firn rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Please, do not take it personally. It has been difficult since his parents passed away some time ago. In any case, you have my most sincere apologies, and my utmost gratitude for completing our request, Fairy Tail. The reward will be sent to your guild shortly."

It seemed like a clear dismissal to the team, but Erza crossed her arms. "Forgive me, but I have a few things to bring up before we leave. While we were investigating, we came across some issues about the state of the village that you may find concerning…"

The mayor sighed again. "Ah, I hoped that it would pass you by. But rest assured we have it under control. It's not something we need to burden outsiders with."

"Is that so?"

"You've done enough, Fairy Tail mages. Thank you again."

* * *

They exited the mayor's office for the second time that day, straight into another blizzard of epic proportions that swirled violently around them and the entire village.

"H-How did the weather change so f-fast? It w-was sunny just a while ago…" Lucy shivered, and sneezed. "I-It's even colder than the blizzard earlier."

"I suppose it can't be helped." Shielding her eyes from the circling snow with her hand, Erza glanced around. "We're not getting out of here in weather like this. In any case, it'll be quite late if we try going back at this hour. I saw an inn while we were investigating, so we'll spend the night there. Let's hurry; it's dangerous to stay out here for too long."

Even Natsu was having difficulties standing against the howling wind, having pulled Happy close to his chest, and not that he would ever admit it, but Gray could feel a certain frigidity seeping into his body. He'd nearly forgotten just how bad blizzards could get up here too. Strangely enough, it seemed to extinguish the lingering resentment from earlier. He shook his head to clear the ringing declaration away. It was petty to stew on it, anyway.

"Hold on a sec, what's that white thing?" Natsu shouted over the gales, pointing up at the dismal skies. The rest of them turned to look, seeing nothing.

"What are you talking about, Natsu?"

"That white bowl-looking thing! It's covering the whole village!" He swiped his hand back and forth in an arc to indicate its extent. They squinted for a while until Lucy let out an audible gasp.

"Oh! Something rippled…"

"It's a barrier." The team whirled around at the voice behind them, and Gray's eyes widened at the newcomer.

"You're…"

"Cirque." The girl from the house on the hill nodded, wrapped up in a thick jacket with her long silvery hair fanning out every which way. "It's a magic ice barrier that automatically manifests when we have one of our blizzards. The barrier prevents the worst of it from destroying buildings and burying the village in snow. It's been around since the village was founded."

"Y-You mean outside the village, this blizzard's even worse?"

Cirque nodded solemnly. "Mr. Gray," she addressed, looking up at him. "You said you still had some questions for me."

"What? Oh, yeah, I guess." In truth, Gray had not even thought of it since they had completed the mission, but a renewed sense of curiosity surfaced. He glanced at everyone else's puzzled expressions. "Do you want to come with us, or-"

"I'd rather answer you back up at the temple on the hill."

When he pictured the small three-walled building in his mind, the last thing Gray thought of it as was a temple. Still, he wasn't in any place to question it. "Sure." Turning back to his friends, he said, "You guys go ahead. I'll meet you at the inn later."

"Are you sure?" Erza asked suspiciously, but Gray waved her off.

"It won't take that long."

He set off with Cirque, who only stared straight ahead as they silently walked towards the hill. It felt awkward, if he was to be honest, but the blizzard drowned out any chances of a normal conversation other than shouting at each other. It was a relief to reach the temple once again and slip within its sheltered confines. A wall of blankets had been hung up over the missing wall to block the wind.

"Do you live here?" Gray asked, spotting a small bed in a corner.

"I might as well," Cirque shrugged. She lit a lamp, flooding the room with a dimly warm light, and directed him to the table she had offered earlier in the afternoon. "I know you didn't want to just ask about the mission back then," she began, pointing delicately at the object that Gray's eyes had already been drawn to the moment he entered. "You wanted to know about this sword, didn't you?"

"Yeah." He stared at the sword, at the way it seemed to faintly glow in the murky room, at the way it seemed to quietly hum with energy, at a latent power it seemed to exude that he couldn't quite pick up-

The waves of nostalgia and familiarity he had sensed from before washed over him more strongly than ever all of a sudden, and Gray inhaled sharply as he finally recognized the magical signature pulsing from the sword, closing his eyes for a moment in blissful and painful reminiscence.

_Ur._

* * *

"You've been distracted ever since last night. Is something wrong?"

"Mm?"

In a compartment of the train headed back to Magnolia, Lucy sat next to Gray with Plue on her lap, looking up at him with concern as he stared out the window.

"You're not bothered by what that jerk said yesterday, are you?" The celestial spirit mage scowled. "Don't listen to him. He doesn't know anything about you or us or Fairy Tail mages at all."

"Nah, I don't care about that." In fact, Gray had nearly forgotten the incident until Lucy brought it back up. His head was swirling with the information and realizations from the night before.

"Well good, because you're not. You're on the strongest team, _our_ strongest team. And you're among the top class members of the guild. And you were picked for the S-Class exam. And you and Natsu half-destroy the guild every day-"

A chuckle slipped out from Gray's lips at her last remark. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?" He reached over to ruffle Lucy's hair, ignoring her squeak of surprise. "Seriously, it's fine. I don't care about that."

"If you say so then. I hate people like that who make assumptions. At least the mission's over and done with now; it was way too cold up there." Lucy sat back in her seat, glancing briefly across the aisle to the seat where Natsu lay across Erza's lap, having been apparently knocked out to spare him the agony of his motion sickness. She laughed nervously before turning back to Gray. "But there's still something on your mind, isn't there? What is it?"

He shrugged lightly, glancing back towards the window and watching patches of snow thin out to patches of grass as the train continued to speed by. "Not much. I was just thinking…"

"About?"

The mission had made him realize more than ever how much he missed the north, even if Fairy Tail would always be home. He'd been contemplating it even before the mission, of simply taking some time off from the guild – a brief reprieve from the chaos and warmth, just for a little while, so that he could focus due to a growing sense of frustration about _something_ lately in the back of his mind. Going now would be convenient as well, since it was reaching the time where he made his yearly visit there anyway. He would just be staying a little longer.

And maybe-

Neve's accusatory words and Cirque's quiet resignation flashed through his mind.

Maybe he could help after all.

"I was thinking of going back to Isvan for a while."

* * *

**A/N:** Yep, this story lives! My god, I did not mean for the chapter to turn out so long, but it just wouldn't _end_ even after I cut out many, many parts. I don't like it very much and I almost wanted to split it, but it's necessary exposition and flows better as one chapter. It's the last time you'll get to see Gray for a while, so maybe that balances it out. I'll try to keep this note short so it's not even longer. With this length, I hope this chapter didn't drag, but future chapters will definitely be a bit shorter, and therefore hopefully faster, though I'm still not promising anything.

Fun facts: "Glacies" is Latin for ice (yes, not very imaginative). "Firn" is accumulated snow that has lasted for several years preceding the formation of a glacier. "Neve" is the same, but only lasting one year so far. "Cirque" is one of the smallest types of glaciers. "Boreal" is an adjective describing "of the north" or about arctic zones in general.

I wasn't expecting to get so many reviews just for the prologue, and they were greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	3. False Leads

**Chapter Two – False Leads**

* * *

…_That was the last time we saw Gray._

* * *

He sucked in a deep breath at the edge of the cliff and strained his ears, taking in all the possible smells and sounds as far as he could sense: the salty sting of the ocean, the decay of withering leaves, the small town with its people and food and laughter, brimming unmistakably with happiness and life.

But not the one he was looking for.

The tide of crushing disappointment that swept over Natsu was achingly familiar by now, even if he didn't want it to be. Disappointment, and complete frustration that this time had been a failure as well. Countless numbers of towns and cities visited, so many people questioned, and still nothing. Mission after mission and search after search had turned up only the vaguest hints, and oftentimes not even that.

One year. One year since Gray had gone missing. It didn't seem possible that time could pass so fast. Only yesterday, as it seemed to them, they had watched him board that train, waving a cheerful farewell. And then it had been a month of quiet boredom even though Natsu had denied it vigorously at the time. True, the Dragon Slayer enjoyed brawling with anyone in the guild who could give him a good fight, but in the end, everyone knew it would always be Gray and Natsu.

The lack of contact from the ice mage throughout that month hadn't worried anyone too much, as they simply assumed Gray wanted privacy with whatever training or other matters he was preoccupied with. And in the first place, it was difficult to send communication to or from a place as far as Isvan. But the month passed and there had still been no word from Gray.

After another week, a search party consisting of Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Erza, and even Wendy, Carla, and Juvia tagging along, had trekked up to the northern area. Gray had never told them exactly _where_ in Isvan he would be though, and as a result they found themselves at a loss, without a single trail to follow. Still, such a trivial thing wouldn't stop them from doing everything in their power to locate their friend.

And they had been searching ever since.

"Natsu?"

Lucy's voice snapped Natsu out of his thoughts and he whirled around, coming face to face with the rest of the team. Erza's expression was stony, Lucy's dejected, and Happy was simply drooping with defeat all over.

"We're done here. Let's go home." The curt tone of Erza's voice told Natsu all he needed to know, and he sighed, clenching his fists.

Back to square one.

* * *

"Welcome back!"

Mirajane's bright voice called to the team from behind the bar counter as they strode into the guild. There was nothing but sympathy in her sapphire eyes upon seeing their resigned postures. "No luck?"

"The info we got was trash," Natsu snarled, pounding his fist onto the surface of a nearby table and leaving a sizable indentation. "And I didn't even get to beat anyone up on the mission."

An armored hand clapped heavily onto Natsu's shoulder in restraint. Erza cast a warning look at him before turning back to Mirajane. "It turned out to only be a rumor after all. There was no evidence whatsoever that Gray has ever been to that village. I thought it was a little strange in the first place, but…" She trailed off, and Mirajane nodded in understanding. They already had few leads as it was, and any clue, no matter how insignificant or unlikely, had always seemed to spark a light of hope in everyone's eyes. At the same time, it was even more heartbreaking to see those hopes come to nothing, like now.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Mirajane said softly. Rummaging about in a nearby drawer for a moment, she pulled something out and leaned over the counter to hand it to Erza, who passed it to Lucy upon seeing the name written on the envelope. "Here, another letter from Juvia arrived while you were away."

Expertly unsealing the envelope, Lucy unfolded the piece of paper within and let her eyes scan over the water mage's neat handwriting. For a moment Lucy's expression brightened before it faded, and she shook her head as she reached the end of the letter. "Juvia's fine. She hasn't been able to find anything yet either, but she's still looking." A small smile curved Lucy's lips. "She hopes we're all doing well, and that she'll know if we're not putting a hundred percent effort into it too."

"There's nothing to worry about on that end," Erza declared, though Lucy noted the slight shadows under her eyes. After so long, the search was finally beginning to run them ragged.

Abruptly, Natsu stood up and made for the entrance of the guild. Happy followed him quickly even as the blue cat glanced backwards at Erza and Lucy in apprehension, flapping his feathery wings rapidly.

"Natsu? Where are you going?" Lucy asked.

"Out," he replied shortly without looking back, and disappeared from view.

* * *

The tree trunk exploded as Natsu slammed a fiery fist into it, leaving a charred, smoking hole in its side. Happy cringed, almost able to feel the tangible disappointment and frustration radiating from Natsu, before he steeled himself and flew to the Dragon Slayer, landing on his friend's shoulder. "Natsu, you're going to wreck the forest."

"I don't care," Natsu muttered, but nevertheless he lowered his fist and slumped with his back against the barely standing tree, sliding down to a cross-legged sitting position at its base. Raising a hand, he patted Happy's head, running his fingers through the short blue fur. "Sorry, did that scare you?"

"You'll never scare me," Happy replied immediately, jumping down from Natsu's shoulder to his lap instead. He was worried too, but if there was one thing he could do, it was to at least remind Natsu of his goal and convictions. There was no doubt Natsu would never give up looking, though Happy had always been able to sense when that resolve wavered, even ever so slightly.

Even the most determined of them all was prone to cracking after it had been so long. It was only natural. "It's okay, we'll definitely find Gray! And then you'll have someone to fight properly again."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Happy." Coming from anybody else, the reassurance would have seemed repetitive and empty, but coming from his most trusted partner, it was like a gentle breeze blowing over the fading spark of hope, reigniting the blaze once more.

Relaxing tensed shoulders slightly, Natsu leaned back and let his head thump against the tree trunk, staring out into the forest clearing. One hand absentmindedly continued to caress Happy behind the ears, while the other automatically traveled to his side to grip a silver chain hanging from his belt.

It had only sunk in how important his fights with Gray were during the initial month Gray had been gone. Perhaps it was the side effect of his own magic, perhaps it was just how he had always been, but either way, Natsu had always known that his emotions continuously peaked to a boiling point deep within him. They bubbled like lava, occasionally manifesting as small explosions and in turn fueling his magic and making it stronger than ever.

And sometimes, it was too much. There was too much pent-up energy, too much to feel, too much of everything filling his head and veins and throat and entire body until Natsu thought he would self-destruct, to say nothing of what he might do to those around him. He couldn't let that happen. It was why he constantly sought out opponents to test his strength against, constantly tried to stay busy with exercises and missions, and constantly wanted to talk to everyone and everything, in order to direct that energy towards a more productive cause.

Being able to trade blows with Gray, the smirks from the thrill of a fight that they reserved for only each other, the tension released every time they got into another useless argument, all of it had been more important than Natsu ever realized, because Gray was always there. Until now.

He wondered if Gray, wherever the idiot was, had ever felt the same way.

Threading his fingers through the chain, Natsu lifted the silver necklace to eye level, glaring irritably at the shiny sword pendant as if he could make the ice mage reappear just like that.

"_You'll get this back when _you're_ back!"_

"_Flame bastard, if you lose that, I'll kick your ass when I come back!"_

He kept the necklace attached to his belt, the broken chain having been fixed long ago thanks to Lucy. It had seemed wrong somehow, to wear it, and it didn't seem right to leave it behind somewhere either. So Natsu settled for keeping it close, in a place where he could be reminded of that promise.

_I'm still waiting on that, ice brain._

But just waiting wasn't good enough. Natsu shot to his feet, scooping Happy into his arm as the Exceed fell with a surprised yelp, and dropped the necklace from his other hand where it bounced off his leg and swung gently from his side.

"Natsu?"

He had to believe that even through the next ten, hundred, thousand, or even million searches, they would find something that would lead them to Gray, if not the ice mage himself. He had to believe that Gray was out there too, doing everything he could to return to Fairy Tail, to return _home_. Because any other explanation was unacceptable.

He had to believe that the combination of such efforts, through blind faith and stubborn determination, would somehow, someway, bring _something_.

* * *

"Since we're out of leads again, I suppose we'll have to start from scratch."

In the evening, the guild was mostly devoid of members except for a select few crowded around a single table. Erza frowned at the paper in her hand, reading over the list of possible areas they had thought of to search next. Leaning over a large map dotted with small flags, Lucy and Levy scrutinized it intensely with markers in their hands.

"I'm still saying we should stick to the northern parts of Fiore and into Isvan," Lucy said carefully, looking over to Makarov who was watching over the proceedings with hawkish eyes. "There's absolutely no reason for Gray to be over here and here, and especially in the south."

"It's been a while since you've searched Isvan again, Lu-chan. Maybe you guys should give it another go?" Levy tapped the marker to her chin thoughtfully.

The celestial spirit mage sighed, flicking strands of golden hair out of her face. "I can't even count the number of times we've been up there anymore. I know it's where Gray disappeared, but you'd think we'd have found _something_ by now."

"Um…" Hearing the hesitant voice speak up, Lucy and Levy turned, seeing Wendy staring hard at the map. "Are we sure Gray-san went to Isvan in the first place? I wasn't there when he left, but Natsu-san and everyone else only saw him get on the train, right?"

"That train was definitely bound for Isvan," Erza said, her eyes peering over the top of the list. She lowered the paper to better concentrate on the discussion, crossing her arms. "I remember checking Gray's ticket. In any case, why would Gray lie about where he was going?"

"What if something happened to the train on the way there?" Natsu burst into the conversation with eyes blazing, but Lucy shook her head.

"We would have heard about something like that. A train accident or incident isn't something you can just look over."

The group fell into silence, contemplating their own various thoughts and explanations. After one year, none of the ideas were completely new. But repeating them out loud helped for some reason, even superficially, reminding them that not all possibilities had been completely exhausted. Makarov gulped down another draught from his tankard and exhaled deeply. It was touching to see his children still as determined as ever to find one of their own, and it made him proud at how much they cared. If only it wasn't necessary in the first place.

"Perhaps," he began, and everyone's eyes turned to him, "Rather than attempting to think of where Gray could have gone, why don't we turn the question around? Instead, is there a reason that Gray hasn't returned?"

The immediate thought that flashed through everyone's minds was just as quickly written off. It was simply impossible.

"There's no way in hell he's… he's…" Natsu hissed, unable to voice it. He gripped the edge of the table so tightly that his knuckles turned white and the sound of a crack was audible, echoing in the nearly deserted guild hall.

"No one's said that," Erza said gently, but her eyes were hard as she glanced to Natsu in reproach. "Let's not think about that right now. Is there something in Isvan that could have kept Gray there?"

"It's where he grew up, right?" Lucy murmured. "But… I didn't think that there was anything left for him there." Even as the words slipped out, Lucy bit her lip. It wasn't her place to say such a thing, when she wasn't sure herself. "That's as far as I know, anyway. Do either of you know anything else?" she asked Natsu and Erza, but they shook their heads no in aligned cluelessness.

"What about asking Lyon-san?" Wendy piped up again suddenly. "Chelia said he's Gray-san's childhood friend, right? And fellow student?"

They all paused to consider it, the many candles around the table flickering like their thoughts, and Lucy brightened. "That's a good idea, actually. If there's anyone who could tell us, it'd be Lyon. We haven't talked to him in a while either, so maybe he's got news."

"I'd hope that Lyon would send us any news regardless of whether we see him in person or not." The armored S-class mage flipped scarlet hair over her shoulder, eyebrows furrowed sternly. "That seems to be our best plan of action next though. But to go all the way to Lamia Scale just for that seems like a waste. Given this opportunity, we should search another area nearby while we're at it."

"Leave it to me! Let's see… Lamia Scale is here…" Uncapping the marker, Levy neatly circled a point on the map and drew a single straight line across the paper. "If we're going for efficiency, you should search north of this line here. You've covered these other spots pretty well already."

Natsu leaned closer to the map as well, scanning over the grid. He wasn't any good at figuring out the finer calculations that seemed to come so easily to people like Lucy and Levy. He was more useful out in the field, where he was allowed to rely on gut instinct and his own senses in a practical manner. Then again, it was thanks to those incomprehensible calculations that allowed Natsu to search in such a way, so it couldn't be all bad.

Still, his eyes traveled to the jagged black lines that bordered the white area of Isvan north of Fiore. It was true that they had already combed that snowy land numerous times over without anything to show for it, but there was that continuously niggling feeling in the back of his mind that they had missed something…

The doors to the guild suddenly burst open with a sudden slam as it hit the wall, startling all those present and making them jump in their seats. From what little of the outside they could see, night had already fallen, painting the sky a dark shade of navy. The distinctly tall, spiky silhouette of the intruder entering the guild hall prompted them to relax.

"Gajeel!" Levy called joyfully, pushing her chair back and getting to her feet. The Iron Dragon Slayer replied with a grunt and a hard pat on the head as he passed, causing her to scowl momentarily. Behind him, Pantherlily trotted out from Gajeel's shadow and he greeted them more amiably, striking up a quiet conversation with Happy and Carla. Gajeel ran crimson eyes over the group of people gathered and he raised a metal-studded eyebrow.

"Didn't think anyone would still be here this late."

"Welcome back, Gajeel," Makarov said warmly, standing up and hopping onto the bar counter in order to be eye level at the other man. "Did your mission go well?"

"Gihi, you expected anything less?" Gajeel grinned, widely enough to bare his sharp teeth. He handed Makarov a thick folder before turning back to the others who were watching curiously. "And I picked up some news you lot might find interesting. Dunno if it's actually worth anything, but beats running 'round lost like your heads are cut off, from the looks of it," he added with a sneer at the chaotically arranged map.

Natsu, Erza, and Lucy stiffened. In his own way and if only for Juvia's sake, Gajeel had been at the bare minimum level of concerned when the news was broken to the guild that Gray was officially declared missing, but no more or less concerned than any other member. Now that they thought of it, Gajeel's specific line of the work in the guild would certainly put him within range of any unusual information.

* * *

"It's just a rumor," Gajeel began, pausing to fish out a handful of metal nuts. He popped one in his mouth and ground down on it loudly as he continued, voice slightly muffled. "But apparently some shit's going on up in the north."

"The north?" Erza's eyes widened. "You don't mean-"

"We heard it when we were close to the border of Isvan." Pantherlily nodded in affirmation, crossing his short arms across his chest. "That's where your ice mage friend was thought to have gone missing, was it not?"

"What would it even have to do with Gray though?" Lucy asked, frowning. As much as she wanted to hope for the best, they had been disappointed far too many times already. "Just because it's close to there…"

"Not just any shit," Gajeel growled. "Dragons."

Natsu jolted to attention almost violently, slamming his palms against the table. His eyes were so wide that Lucy thought she could momentarily see the flames of the candles around the table dancing in his eyes, before he blinked and the illusion was gone.

There was a tentative silence as nearly everyone looked to Natsu and Wendy, whose expression was just as surprised.

With what seemed like a great effort to restrain himself, Natsu sat back down. "That's got nothing to do with Gray," he said in a carefully controlled tone, as if he was torn between his desires to demand information on either of the two topics.

"Pipe down for a sec, Salamander. I'm not done," Gajeel snorted. "And not just any dragons either. Ice dragons."

"Ice dragons? There's ice dragons too?"

"I don't see why not," Wendy said softly. "It's not like we know many others outside of ours, and a few others. There's so much we _don't_ know."

Inclining his head briefly at the younger, blue-haired Dragon Slayer, Gajeel continued, "Personally, I think the stuff 'bout dragons is a load of crap. Just some crazy cult people thinkin' they can find one or whatever. As if _they_ could, if Dragon Slayers can't," he said with some contempt, but there was a note of almost… disappointment. "No, the more interesting rumor was about a bunch of Isvan's ice mages goin' missing."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Just like Gray!"

"Most ice mages do come from Isvan, it seems," Pantherlily added. "What Gajeel and I heard was troubling, to say the least. I have no doubt that the rumor of ice dragons is exactly that: a rumor," he said with a glance towards Natsu. "But what is true is that several ice mages are reportedly disappearing for unknown reasons recently in the Isvan area. There is a strong likelihood of a connection."

"Hold on for a moment." With a sharp look at Natsu and Lucy, who were nearly trembling in anticipation, Erza leaned forward at the table, lacing her fingers together. "This seems almost too good to be true. Gray disappeared a little over a year ago. What connection could he possibly have to this string of incidents?"

"But isn't it enough, Erza?" Lucy burst out, brown eyes shining. "This is a bigger lead than we've had all this time. Isvan! Ice mages! Even if the timing's off, it's too much of a coincidence to ignore."

"I don't mean that we won't look into it just as hard as we always have," Erza replied calmly. "I simply don't wish to follow yet another false lead, only to turn up empty-handed again when our efforts could have been better spent elsewhere."

"It's as good a lead as we'll get!" Natsu exclaimed. The spark was back in his eyes, filled with eagerness and hope. His mood was infectious. "How come you're bein' a downer when we've just gotten the best news we've had in ages? By the way, thanks Gajeel," he added hurriedly, to which Gajeel replied with a noncommittal grunt.

"I didn't do it for _you_. The sooner you find your ice mage, the sooner Juvia'll get off my case about it too."

"Juvia!" Levy brought a hand to her mouth in realization and tapped Lucy on her shoulder, who caught on almost immediately. "Have you told Juvia about this yet?" Levy asked.

"She's the first one I told, shrimp," Gajeel answered grumpily. "Juvia's off halfway across the country in some no-name city though. Can't picture her getting back here any time soon."

Lucy groaned. "Oh, I wish we could wait for her, but…" She did feel absolutely terrible, knowing how much Juvia would want to come along, but they couldn't afford to waste any time. "She'll have to catch up with us then, depending on how long we spend there."

"I suppose that settles it then." Rising from her seat, Erza cast her eyes at the members of her team around the table. "Get a good night's sleep. We'll take the first train up to Isvan tomorrow."

"I will contact Lamia Scale's master to inform them of your visit," Makarov spoke up. "I wish you the best of luck. I hope you find Gray."

"Thank you, master. We hope so too."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait! I don't have much to say here, but I hope you enjoyed reading it. Are things getting exciting enough?


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